Syria says 14 security personnel have been killed in an “ambush” by Assad loyalists

Syria’s new rebel-led government says 14 interior ministry officials have been killed and 10 wounded in an “ambush” by forces loyal to ousted President Bashar al-Assad in the west of the country.

The fighting took place on Tuesday near the Mediterranean port of Tartus, they said.

Reports said security forces were ambushed as they tried to arrest the former officer in connection with his role in the notorious Saidnaya prison, near the capital Damascus.

Just over two weeks ago, Assad’s presidency fell to rebel forces led by the Islamist faction Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said three militants were also killed in the clashes.

SOHR added that security forces later brought in reinforcements.

In addition, the Syrian authorities imposed a nighttime curfew in the center of the city of Homs, according to state media.

Reports said it followed riots following a video purportedly showing an attack on an Alawite shrine.

Syria’s interior ministry said it was an old video referring to a rebel offensive on Aleppo in late November and the violence was carried out by unknown groups.

SOHR reported that one protester was killed and five wounded in Homs.

Demonstrations were also reported in the cities of Tartus and Latakia, as well as in Assad’s hometown of Kardakh.

The Alawites are the minority sect from which the Assad family is descended and to which many of the former regime’s political and military elite belonged.

The HTS-led blitzkrieg, which began in northeastern Syria and spread across the country, ended more than 50 years of rule by the Assad family.

Assad and his family were forced to flee to Russia.

Since then, HTS has pledged to protect the rights and freedoms of many religious and ethnic minorities in Syria.

HTS is designated as a terrorist organization by the UN, US, EU, UK and others.

Protests broke out in the country on Tuesday over the burning of the Christmas treewhich sparked new calls for the new authorities to protect minorities.